


Always

by Nightwinging_it



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: M/M, MReyder - Freeform, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Reyder, Reyes is a good boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-23 21:39:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19709965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightwinging_it/pseuds/Nightwinging_it
Summary: When Scott Ryder goes missing, Reyes must struggle to find him while simultaneously being accused of being behind the disappearance. But Reyes will do whatever it takes to find Scott. He will always come for Scott, no matter the odds.





	Always

**Author's Note:**

> An idea I got randomly! I'm not used to writing Liam and Peebee, so hopefully I got their characterization right!

Reyes Vidal had not slept in three days.

“Nothing, sir,” came the report over his omni-tool.

“Then move on to the next grid, and be thorough,” Reyes snapped.

He ran a hand through his hair and poured himself another drink. Not alcohol, not at a time like this. He’d found a local drink that was supposed to help people stay awake. Alien energy drinks. He nearly laughed, if only from the exhaustion.

He was just here to have his drink and oversee the switch-up of Collective members aiding the current search. Then he was heading back out himself.

But a pounding on his door took his attention from the data pad listing available Collective members. Reyes glared and went over to his door. This better be damned good.

He slipped his gun into his hand, holding it discreetly at his side and switching the safety off. He pulled the door open, tense for whoever might be there.

His mood soured as he was met with the sight of Liam, Jaal, and Peebee.

“Now is not a good time,” Reyes said.

“Tough shit. We’re checking your place,” Liam said.

“Checking my…” Reyes tightened his hold on his gun. “You still think I had something to do with this?”

“You were the last person to see them before they disappeared,” Jaal said.

“That makes you more than a little suspicious,” Peebee said. “Also, I’d recommend you holster that gun.”

Reyes reluctantly holstered his gun and let them in. “I don’t have time for this. You waste your time looking around, and I’ll get back to actually trying to find Scott.”

Liam grabbed Reyes roughly. “Ryder, Cora, and Vetra come here and then mysteriously go missing?”

Reyes had no patience for this, but he only clung to his self-control for Scott’s sake. He knew Scott loved his friends, and hated to see Reyes fighting with them.

“You’re the Charlatan. We all know how easy it is for you to make people disappear,” Jaal said.

Reyes would bite his tongue, but he wouldn’t stand around and be accused when he could be looking for Scott. He shoved Liam off of himself, catching Liam off guard with the force of it.

“So Ryder goes missing, and you’re here drinking?” Peebee said, noticing the glass on Reyes’ desk. “You sure seem concerned to me.”

“It’s an energy drink. Some of us have actually been searching for Scott,” Reyes said. “Help yourself to a sip if it’ll make you get some work done. He’s been missing for three days on a planet that doesn’t have safe drinking water.” He looked to Liam, the only other human in the room. “I’m sure you can guess how bad this situation could potentially be.”

“I don’t understand,” Jaal said, looking between the two.

“A human can’t live long without water,” Liam said reluctantly. “Three days is the general number. Could be more or less. Lot of factors involved.”

“Like sweating. It’s been hot, and if they were fighting, they’d be sweating even more. If they’re somewhere without water…” Reyes didn’t even know if they were still on Kadara, to be honest. They could’ve been taken prisoner by the kett for all anyone knew.

But there had been noticeable tremors reported around the time Scott disappeared, which couldn’t just be a coincidence when it came to him. Reyes had wracked his brain for any clue of where Scott and his crew had gone, but the last thing Scott said was that they were off to pick some fights, topping it off with a smile and good-natured laugh.

Something had to be wrong, they all knew it. No one had been able to reach Scott or the two he’d been out with. SAM hadn’t contacted any of them.

Reyes had laid out a map of Kadara and split it into grids, sending his men out to do careful searches of each grid, but so far, nothing. No sign of the Pathfinder.

“Liam, there’s no sign he’s here,” Peebee said, sniffing Reyes’ drink. “Not alcohol.”

“You can tell just by sniffing it?” Jaal said.

“Some of us like to have fun,” Peebee said, taking an experimental sip of the drink. “Ugh, definitely not alcohol.”

“Let’s just go back to the Tempest. Maybe Suvi noticed something on the scanners,” Liam said, looking angry and defeated.

Reyes understood, he really did. He was mad and desperate too. But he was even angrier now that he’d been accused of being behind Scott’s disappearance. He’d been gone for almost four days, and now the blame was falling on Reyes.

“Sir, we found something,” a voice said over his omni-tool.

Reyes felt his heart slam against his ribs at the words. “What? Where?”

“The Pathfinder’s vehicle. Sending you coordinates now. We’re searching the area,” the voice said. “No sign of the Pathfinder or his crew yet. Looks like something happened here.”

“Secure the perimeter and make sure no one gets in there. I’m on my way,” Reyes said, already knowing Scott’s crew would demand to go with him.

“We’re coming,” Liam said, sure enough.

“I’m not wasting my breath or time fighting that,” Reyes said. “I’ll take your apology in writing, tied to a bottle of the finest whiskey you can get your hands on, by the way.”

Liam grumbled something under his breath as they followed Reyes out of the room. The four walked quickly, with Peebee contacting the Tempest to let them know they had a lead.

Reyes knew not to get his hopes up, but he couldn’t stop the whispers in his mind that everything was okay, that they were going to find Scott and he’d be fine. God, he hoped Scott was fine.

Reyes led them to a shuttle and they all climbed in. Reyes took off for the location he’d been sent, flying as fast as he dared.

The flight still seemed to take far too long. And as they approached the area, Reyes could see what that agent had meant by “something happened”.

The area was a mess. A rocky mountain bordered much of the area, and appeared to have suffered damaging explosions, or something of the sort. Rubble was scattered everywhere, and a few dead beasts littered the ground.

Reyes found a safe place to land the shuttle, and they hopped out, hurrying to where the Nomad was haphazardly parked. Well, “parked” wasn’t really the correct word.

“They left it in a hurry,” Jaal said.

“Bullets,” Liam said, running his fingers over the vehicle. “She’s in bad shape.”

“Ryder?” Peebee called loudly.

Reyes noticed blood near some of the rubble. He approached slowly, but relaxed as he saw a hand sticking out from the rocks clutching a gun. Not Scott’s gun.

Reyes knelt down and examined the gun. “Outcasts,” he said.

“Think they’re behind SAM going dark?” Liam asked his friends.

“Guess we’ll have to find Ryder to find out,” Peebee said.

Reyes reached out and touched the hand of whoever was crushed under the rubble. “Cold. Tremors were reported around the time Scott went missing.” Reyes stood up and looked around. “This area is pretty far out. I’m not surprised no one noticed before now.”

“How did your people find it?” Liam asked suspiciously.

Reyes used his omni-tool to pull up his grid system. “Because unlike you, I’m organized and efficient.”

“He really has been searching,” Jaal said, staring at the grid system in surprise.

It would take at least a day or two to search through all the rubble. That was time they didn’t have. If Scott was alive, Reyes needed something to get his attention.

“Does that thing have a horn?” Reyes asked, gesturing to the Nomad.

“Hell yea it does,” Peebee said, and at the looks she received, she glared back defiantly. “What? Ryder and I like to liven up our drives.”

“Lay into it,” Reyes said.

“But-” Liam started.

“My people have the perimeter covered. If it attracts attention, they’ll warn me,” Reyes said. “Just do it.”

Liam gestured at Peebee. She went over to the Nomad, and a moment later, the horn blared out, echoing around the area.

Reyes held up a hand, signaling at her to stop. She obeyed, and they all listened hard.

It was faint, but Reyes heard a female voice coming from behind the rubble in the mountain.

“There!” Liam cried, pointing.

They hurried towards the source. There was so much caved in rubble, it was hard to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

“Ryder? Cora? Vetra?” Liam yelled.

“Liam!” still faint, but closer.

“That’s Vetra,” Liam said, pressing his hands against the rubble piled up as if he could move it by sheer will. “Vetra!”

“Cave-in!” Vetra said. “Couldn’t get out. Ryder and Cora down.”

Down, but alive. Reyes pulled out every explosive he had on him.

“Oh, damn,” Peebee said in surprise. “Someone’s compensating.”

“Move back as far as you can,” Reyes called to Vetra. “Get behind cover if you can. We’ll blow you an exit.”

“We can’t,” Liam argued. “We could make the whole thing worse.”

“Do it,” Vetra said from beyond the rubble. “Ryder and Cora don’t have time for you to find another way. They need medical attention.”

“Help me set this up. We do this thoughtfully,” Reyes said, though thoughtful was the last thing he was feeling right now. No, his mind was on Scott. Trapped back there for three days after a fight? Reyes needed to get him out.

It felt like it took too long to look everything over as they placed explosives. They needed to move the rubble without causing another cave-in. They all knew how important it was to get it right, so they bit back their frustration and made sure they were thorough.

Peebee used her biotics to place explosives higher up and shift some of the rubble around. They double-checked their work when they were done, and backed away.

“Vetra, we’re going to blow it. Are you safe?” Liam said.

“Safe as I can be,” Vetra said. “Just do it, Liam.”

“Okay. Let’s do this,” Liam said.

They counted down before setting off the explosives. Reyes’ heart hammered in his chest as he watched the rubble shift, and the dust settle.

Relief choked him as an opening came into view. The group hurried forward, but Reyes put a hand out.

“If you think you can stop us-” Liam said.

“At least one person needs to stay out here in case it caves in again. My men can help set another explosion, but they can’t do that if they don’t know,” Reyes said.

“I will. Just go get them,” Peebee said impatiently.

The three climbed inside the opening. Vetra was sitting behind a cluster of rocks, Scott’s head on one leg and Cora’s on the other. Neither appeared to be conscious.

“Shit,” Liam said, kneeling next to them. “What happened?”

“Never mind that. Call the Tempest,” Vetra said.

“Already did. They’re on their way,” Jaal said. “Tell us what happened, Vetra.”

Reyes knelt down and checked Scott’s pulse. It was beating too fast.

“We went to investigate an Outcast hideout. When Ryder tried to connect to their systems, a virus infected SAM and knocked out all our omni-tools, and we were ambushed. We fled in the Nomad, but she was too damaged to be reliable much longer, so we came to the first opening we found. They’d rigged explosives all around the mountain. It was a set-up, the whole damn thing. The explosives must’ve went wrong, though. We lived, and it sounded like most of them didn’t,” Vetra said. “The water in here was still toxic. I wouldn’t let them drink it. Trust me, that was a war all its own.”

“Is it just dehydration? Any bad injuries?” Reyes asked.

“Cora got grazed by two bullets on her leg, and Ryder was stabbed in the arm, but I gave them medi-gel and wrapped the wounds. I…didn’t know enough about human physiology to help with the dehydration,” Vetra said, looking down at them. “We tried to move the rocks on our own, but we couldn’t. It tired them out even more. And with SAM down, and the virus infecting all our omni-tools, we couldn’t call for help.”

“Let’s get them out of here,” Liam said, carefully lifting Cora. She groaned and clutched at Liam’s shirt, mumbling something. Liam carried her away before Reyes could make out what she was saying.

“I can-” Vetra started, but Reyes was already lifting Scott.

Scott’s head dropped against Reyes’ shoulder and his eyes cracked open just the slightest before closing again. “Where…?”

His voice was weak, his lips dry and cracked. He was breathing too fast, and Reyes held him a little tighter.

“It’s okay, Scott. I came to save your sorry ass yet again,” he said. “You’ll be fine. You better be fine, you bastard. I lost sleep because of you.”

Scott didn’t say anything else. His body was limp in Reyes’ arms, and Reyes walked a little faster.

They managed to get everyone out of the cave they’d been trapped in. Vetra seemed mostly fine, though a little weakened after three days with no food or water. She seemed exhausted, and admitted to the group she’d tried to stay awake the whole time in case Scott’s or Cora’s condition became critical suddenly.

It was a few minutes before the Tempest arrived, but nearly right after it landed, Lexi, Suvi, and Gil rushed out with stretchers. Reyes could never express his gratitude for the Tempest’s doctor. Scott’s dumbass would be dead without her.

“I’m fine,” Vetra insisted, pointing to Scott and Cora.

Reyes laid Scott on one of the stretchers, keeping hold of his hand. Lexi hurried to get it back onto the Tempest, Suvi close behind with Cora on the other stretcher.

Vetra was explaining what had happened and what their symptoms were as they made their way to the medbay. Lexi nodded her head along, expression focused.

“They should be okay, but we need to get them fluids before they start seizing on us,” Lexi said. “Reyes, help me get him onto that bed.”

Reyes helped Lexi shift Scott onto one of the beds. He staggered a little after setting Scott down, steadying himself with a hand on the wall. The energy drink was wearing off, but now was not the damn time. He’d stay awake until Scott was in the clear.

But nothing escaped Lexi’s notice. “Reyes?”

“I’ve just been up trying to find him. I’m fine. Just an energy drink wearing off,” Reyes said, and gestured impatiently to Scott. “He needs your attention.”

Lexi pressed her lips together and turned away from him. “At least sit in that chair.”

Reyes pulled a chair up next to Scott’s bed, holding his hand again. He could see the blood covering Scott’s injured arm, and bandages Vetra had wrapped around it.

Scott would be okay, Reyes felt confident of that now that they had him in the medbay. But he still couldn’t calm down. If it had taken them just one more day…or even just a few more hours…

If Scott had taken only human members of the crew…if that ambush had actually worked…

Reyes shook his head. He needed to focus. What could’ve happened didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they had found Scott, and Vetra hadn’t been suffering from dehydration like the human members had.

“Here,” Lexi said, pushing a drink into Reyes’ hands. “I already know you won’t leave until he’s better. I don’t need you passing out on me too. Drink.”

Reyes drank until the cup was empty, just to get Lexi off his back and focused on what was important. He set the cup down and found a yawn escaping him.

His eyelids felt much heavier. His whole body suddenly felt heavy with exhaustion.

His eyes shot to the drink. “You-”

“Goodnight, Reyes. He’ll be fine when you wake up,” Lexi said.

Reyes tried to fight it, he really did. But in the end, his head dropped onto Scott’s bed, their hands still clasped together as they both drifted away from consciousness.

***

Reyes felt fingers brushing through his hair. He slowly blinked his eyes open and tried to assess where he was.

He sat up and winced. Shit, his back hurt.

“Sleep well?”

Reyes’ eyes widened and he turned his head as it all came back to him. “Scott?”

“Still alive, thanks to you I hear,” Scott said. He had an IV in his arm, and the bandages on his wound had been changed, but he seemed fine. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine. Lexi said Cora and I can leave by tonight.”

“The Pathfinder’s condition has stabilized, Mr. Vidal,” SAM said.

“SAM?” Reyes said in confusion.

“Vetra told everyone about the virus, and we managed to fix it and reestablish my link to SAM,” Scott explained.

“You slept for a while,” Cora said. She was reading a book in a nearby bed, her leg propped up and an IV in her arm. “Lexi said she took care of you first.”

“I’ll be sure to have a long conversation with her about that,” Reyes grumbled. That’s what he got for trusting a damn doctor.

“You needed the sleep. And there was nothing else you could do,” Scott said, pulling Reyes close so he could kiss his cheek. “Cora and I owe you our lives.”

“If that’s a debt you think you can collect on with any favor you want, just remember I was trained by an asari commando unit,” Cora said, but she didn’t put much weight into the threat. She cleared her throat nervously. “Uh…thanks, Reyes. Ryder’s right.”

“Liam told us you set up a whole grid search system and sent your people to find us,” Scott said.

“Hey, I searched too. I only went back to my room to oversee the switching of search parties and chug alien energy drinks,” Reyes said. “Give me a little credit here.”

“Give him a lot of credit.”

Reyes turned to face Liam, who was leaning in the doorway and looking extremely uncomfortable. He glanced at Reyes before dropping his gaze and shrugging.

“I’m, uh, I’m sorry, Reyes. For…accusing you. I was just mad, you know? And I needed someone to blame, and you were the last person to see them. It was stupid. They would’ve, well, died if it hadn’t been for you. We were chasing empty leads while you actually covered ground and found them,” Liam said.

“Wait, you accused him? Of what?” Scott said.

Liam rubbed the back of his neck. “I was mad, Ryder. We couldn’t find you guys. And I…well, I blamed Reyes. It’s easy to throw the blame on the Charlatan. It’s not easy to admit you’re just using someone as a scapegoat ‘cause you’re useless yourself.”

“Let’s just pretend it never happened, because I’m extremely uncomfortable,” Reyes said. Normally he’d soak in this moment and Liam’s embarrassed blush. But he was still tired, and right now, he didn’t want to deal with this. “Scott survives another day to put himself in danger. Hooray for everyone.”

“Hooray,” Cora and Liam echoed dryly.

“I’ll remember this,” Scott said, scowling. He glanced at Reyes and frowned. “Hey, I’m sorry Liam did that.”

“I’m the Charlatan, Scott. He’s right. It’s easy to blame me. Sloane was more than happy to do it on a regular basis,” Reyes said dismissively.

“Well…thank you, Reyes. For saving me. For always coming for me,” Scott said, leaning in to steal a kiss from Reyes. Scott’s lips were still dry, but Reyes didn’t even care. He was alive. He was going to be fine. Reyes had no complaints.

“Always, Scott,” he said quietly. He grinned and, louder, said, “But now you owe me yet again, and I have quite the tab building up at the bar…”

“I’m going to rip this IV out of my arm and let myself die,” Scott said.

“Don’t even try to fuck with Lexi,” Reyes said. “I can promise you won’t win.”

“Shit,” Scott said in defeat. “How big a tab are we talking?”

Reyes pat his shoulder. “I’m dating you, Scott. How big a tab do you think it is?”

“Shit,” Scott repeated.

Reyes laughed, so relieved that Scott was already up to joking around. He reached out and took Scott’s hand, squeezing it tightly.

Scott smiled and kissed Reyes again, squeezing his hand back. “Stay with me tonight. You need the rest.”

Reyes wouldn’t argue with that. There was no place he’d rather be, and no person he’d rather be with.


End file.
